Wobbly Web Layer Cake Throw Quilt

The Boo Crew by Sweetwater is just too darn cute. From the moment I saw it, I had to play with some. I love the funny monsters, “ramen noodle” stripes, and muted ghastly colors. It is perfect for some late October silliness and it will be available in stores next month so you can get an early start on Halloween!

The monsters and I at Tops to Treasures love it! I think you might too.

42, 10″ x 10″ squares

There are 42, 10″ x 10″ squares in one layer cake; however, some of these squares may not contrast well with your web fabric. To maximize contrast I chose not to use the pieces with black backgrounds. There are 9 pieces of “The Boo Crew” that are mostly black. Pull them out of your pile and set them aside. Replace them:

either Supplement your layer cake with 3, 1/3 yard cuts of a fabric that contrasts better. You will be able to cut 4, 10″ x 10″ squares from each 1/3 yard piece.

or by purchase 2 layer cakes and pull out just the pieces you like. (Check my blog for a companion project to use up the extra slices of cake.)

2 1/2 yards fabric for web and outer border

I used #5510-11. It is black with cream words all over it

1/2 yard fabric for inner border

I used #5513-13. It is a sick green with creepy little spiders crawling all over it.

1 1/2 yard fabric for outer border

I used #5510-16. It is just like my web fabric only with a cream background and colorful words.

1/2yard fabric for spider applique

I used Bella black (#9900-199) however, how cool would it be to use something textured or soft. I could totally get into a fuzzy spider on my quilt.

2/3 yard fabric for binding

I used #5513-13. Back to the green to echo my inner border.

5 yards fabric for backing

Have I told you that I like purple? I chose #5516-14. This is an awesome lavender with cream polka dots on it.

Tools that will help you:

1, 10″ x 10″ piece of cardboard, or stiff paper

I used the piece of cardboard that came with my layer cake. An old shirt box would work too.

1, Sharpie marker – fine point, bright color works best

1, clear acrylic quilting ruler that is at least 11″ x 6″

rubbing alcohol or alcohol swabs

1, blank sticky note. (Really, one of those little pieces of paper with a sticky edge that you use to post notes in your office.)

4 medium black buttons – 1/4″ in diameter or make them different sizes to create googly eyes

I used La Mode #20465 for my quilt.

CuttingDirections:
I recommend that you wait to cut your pieces until you need them, especially the inner border pieces.

From “web” fabric

84, 1 1/2″ x 11 1/4″ rectangles (for cross pieces)

cut 3, 11 1/4″ x width of fabric (wof) strips

sub-cut strips into 28, 1 1/2″ x 11 1/4″ rectangles each

for a total of 84, 1 1/2″ x 11 1/4″ rectangles

16, 5″ x 10″ rectangles (for outer border triangles on short edges)

cut 2, 10″ x wof strips

sub-cut 8, 5 ” x 10″ rectangles from each strip

4, 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ squares ( for outer border corner stones)

16, 5″ x 11″ rectangles (for outer border triangles on long edges)

cut 2, 11″ x wof strips

sub-cut each strip into 8, 5″ x 11″ rectangles.

From inner border fabric

7 wof strips (see Border section of directions)

From outer border fabric

16, 5″ x 10″ rectangles (for outer border triangles on short edges)

cut 2, 10″ x wof strips

sub-cut 8, 5 ” x 10″ rectangles from each strip

16, 5″ x 11″ rectangles (for outer border triangles on long edges)

cut 2, 11″ x wof strips

sub-cut each strip into 8, 5″ x 11″ rectangles.

From binding fabric

8, 2 1/2″ x wof strips

Sewing Directions:Wonky Cross Blocks
This quilt is comprised of 42 wonky cross blocks. 21 lean one way (Right-Side-Up), and 21 lean the other (Upside-Down).

All of the blocks need to be wonky in the same way so that the web illusion holds together when we are done. Soooo, we need to create a wonky tool. For some reason ruler manufacturers don’t make their rulers wonky…at least not on purpose. Go figure. Follow the steps outlined below to temporarily transform your ruler.

Make cutting tool

Gather

sharpie

10″ x 10″ square cardboard

clear acrylic quilting ruler

In order for the wonky crosses to create a web, the black bars have to meet when the blocks are put together. This requires a modicum of precision….which we are going to accomplish by making a special wonky ruler.

Take the 10″ x 10″ square of cardboard

Mark the center of two, parallel sides.

Place an additional mark 1″ above the left side (A) and 1″ below the right side (B)

Draw a line from point A to point B

Place your quilting ruler on top of the cardboard so that the line from A to B is along the long edge of your ruler. The ruler should completely cover one side of the cardboard.

Use your sharpie and a straight edge to trace an outline of the cardboard onto your ruler.

This line is going be your guild for placing the 10″ x 10″ squares of fabric when you make the web. Pay close attention to how the paper fits within the lines as this is how your fabric will fit later.

Don’t freak out….sharpie can be used to mark acrylic rulers. Honest. It will not rub off on your fabric. It will however, rub off when you apply a little alcohol to it. If you make a mistake while you are drawing and want to redo the line dab a tiny bit of alcohol on it and rub. Presto! No more line. Once you are happy with the lines you have drawn put the sharpie and the alcohol away. You don’t want marker on your fabric or to accidentally erase the lines.

Sew other half of layer cake slice to opposite side of the skinny rectangle. Off set the pieces by 1/8″ in the direction of the shorter edge. There should be a tiny 1/8″ wedge hanging over the edge of the short sides of the pieces.

Iron seam allowance toward the rectangle. (This will help your web to appear to pop off of the background later.)

Trim your block back to 10″ x 10″ square if needed.

Turn piece 90 degrees and repeat process

Aline with the tool and cut in half on the diagonal created by your tool.

Offset the pieces by 1/8″ in the direction of the shorter edge. There should be a tiny 1/8″ wedge hanging over the edge of the short sides of the pieces.

The legs of the cross should fall on top of one another. You can pin them in place if you want to make sure that they stay in a straight line. However, this is not necessary. If it is a little bit off it will just enhance the beautiful wonkiness of this block.

Iron seam allowance towards the rectangle

Trim block back to 10″ x 10″ square if needed.

Repeat process 20 times for 21 Right-Side-Up blocks.

21 Upside-Down blocks.

Gather remaining set of 21 squares and 42 rectangles

Follow the directions for Right-Side-Up blocks only flip your ruler upside down and keep it that way.

This is a very UN-NATURAL way to use a ruler. Trust me, you will flip it back over. Mark the bottom of the ruler with a sticky note to help you keep your head in the game.

Flipping the ruler upside down forces the angle to be a mirror image and allows the legs of the crosses to meet. If you don’t do this your spiders will be wandering among a field of wonky crosses rather than walking on a wonderfully wonky web.

Confused? At some point you are bound to step away from your project. Phone call, bathroom break, car pool line,….something is sure to pull you away. Before you start cutting again make sure that you have the ruler oriented correctly. Check it by placing the ruler on top of the block you are working on. The shape drawn on the ruler should match the shape in your block exactly. If not turn the ruler over before you continue.

Center of Quilt Top

Arrange the blocks in a 6 x 7 grid

At this point a design wall is helpful. However, it is not necessary. Any large flat surface will work. Try your bed, floor, draperies or shower curtain. They will do just fine.

Every other block is a mirror image block. They should lean left, then right, then left, etc. across the quilt and down.

Arrange the blocks in a way that is pleasing to you….personally I go for random. I don’t even look anymore. I try to sew the rows together so that no two blocks have the same fabric (pattern or color) right next to each other. Beyond that I leave it to the angels to arrange my quilt blocks. This is supposed to be fun – worrying about where every block goes is not fun to me. If it is to you knock yourself out.

Sew 7rows of 6 blocks

Iron seam allowances in the same direction each time so that they will snuggle when you go to sew the rows together.

Flip the row wrong side up. Look at the blocks on the far right and left.

Iron the seam allowances towards the block that has leftward leaning piecing.

If you do this each time then all of your block seams will be irons so that they will snuggle nicely.

Sew columns together to make the center of the quilt.

Borders:
This quilt has two borders. A straight forward inner border, and a pieced outer border.

Seam allowances vary from quilter to quilter. Your seams may be a bit bigger or a bit smaller than mine. It all works out in the end. However, because this quilt has a pieced outer border I want to make sure that it fits your quilt.

Measure your quilt top as it is right now…without any borders. It should measure 57 1/2″ x 67″.

Write it down here __________________________________.

Skip down in the directions and make your outer border.

Measure the length of your border pieces with out corner stones. They should measure 60″ and 69 1/2″. These are the raw measurements. This is what it should actually measure when you apply a measuring tape to the fabric.

Write it down here ___________________________________________.

The difference between the size of your quilt without borders and the size it needs to be to fit the outer border is the width that your inner border needs to be. This does not include seam allowances so “tay appention”.

Imagine that every thing worked out perfectly (LOL Mine didn’t.)

Width –

The width without borders measures 57 1/2″.

The length of the short pieces of the outer border are 60″

60″ – 57.5″ = 2.5″

Divide by 2 so that you have the same amount of border on each side of the quilt and the finished inner border for the short ends needs to be 1.25″

Add 1/2″ to allow for the seams

The inner border pieces for the width of this quilt need to be cut 1 3/4″ x wof.

Length –

The length without borders measures 67″

The length of the long pieces of outer border are 69 1/2″

69.5″ – 67″ = 2.5″

Divide by 2 so that you have the same amount of border on each side of the quilt and the finished inner border for the long sides needs to be 1.25″

Add 1/2″ to allow for the seams

The inner border pieces for the length of this quilt needs to be cut 1 3/4″ x wof.

Do the math for your quilt here:

Width –

The width of your quilt measures _________

The length of your short pieces of the outer border are ____________.

___________ – ________ = ___________

divide your answer by 2 = ____________

+ 1/2″ = ____________

cut 3 strips _________ x wof for the inner border on the short ends of your quilt.

Length –

The length of your quilt measures _________

The length of your long pieces of the outer border are _________________

____________ – ________ = ___________

divide your answer by 2 = ____________

+ 1/2″ = ____________

cut 4 strips _________ x wof for the inner border on the long sides of your quilt.

You will see a rectangle drawn with solid lines inside a rectangle drawn with dashed lines.

The solid lines represent the finished block.

The dashed lines represent the raw block. These are the edges of your piece before you sew them together. You could call them the cutting lines.

Notice that the diagonal line in the center of the finished block does NOT meet exactly in the corners. It is close…but it is definitely NOT perfectly aligned. This is correct – it allows for the HRT to come to a point when the seams are sewn.

Place ruler on top of ruler template

Notice which template it is. It might be a good idea to write “short” or “long” corresponding to the template on the ruler with your sharpie.

Align corner of ruler with corner of rectangle drawn with a dashed line.

Use a straight edge and your sharpie to draw the remaining two lines of the raw block. (Trace the dashed lines)

Use a straight edge and your sharpie to draw the diagonal line

Ta-da you now have a HRT ruler to use for your blocks.

NOTE: you will have to return to these directions and remake the ruler for the other set of HRTs.

Sew rectangles together in sets of two – one web fabric and one outer border fabric

10″ to 10″ and 11″ to 11″

Right sides together

Sew along the long edge of the rectangle

Iron seam allowances towards the darker fabric

Divide resulting pieced units into 4 piles

2 piles of 9 1/2″ x 10″ with 8 units each.

2 pile of 9 1/2″ x 11″ with 8 units each.

Short blocks

Using short version of the HRT tool

8 blocks

Gather one pile of 9 1/2″ x 10″ units.

Cut one end

Place one pieced unit face up on your cutting surface.

Place HRT tool on top of fabric – right side up

Align diagonal line on HRT tool with seam line of unit.

Trim unit to HRT

Turn ruler to cut other end

Repeat 7 times for 8 right side up HRTs

8 mirror image blocks

Turn HRT tool upside down.

Place sticky note on true bottom of tool so that you remember it is now the top.

Gather remaining pile of 9 1/2″ x 10″ units.

Place one pieced unit face up on your cutting surface.

Place HRT tool on top of fabric – upside down

Align diagonal line on HRT tool with seam line of unit.

Trim unit to HRT

Repeat 7 times for 8 mirror image HRTs

Long blocks

Using long version of the HRT tool

Repeat process as described in the short block directions

Make Short Sides of Outer Border:

Gather

16 short right side up HRTs

16 short mirror image HRTs

Sew 16 sets

1 right side up, 1 mirror image HRT block

Sew along the short end, at the web fabric side.

You should have 8 squashed rectangles that look like squashed dark triangles on a light colored background

Iron seams open

Sew 2 rows

Sew 4 sets together along the short end, at the background fabric side

You should have a long strip with 4 dark points facing one way and 3 facing the other

Measure the length and record here ____________________.

Make Long Sides of Outer Border:

Gather

16 long right side up HRTs

16 long mirror image HRTs

Sew 16 sets

1 right side up, 1 mirror image HRT block

Sew along the short end, at the web fabric side.

You should have 8 squashed rectangles that look like squashed dark triangles on a light colored background

Iron seams open

Sew 2 rows

Sew 4 sets together along the short end, at the background fabric side

You should have a long strip with 4 dark points facing one way and 3 facing the other

Measure the length and record here ____________________.

Inner Border
This is where the quilt is adjusted to make sure that the borders fit. Please refer to the Borders section of the directions to calculate how wide to cut your strips.

Gather

Center of Quilt Top

7 wof strips inner border fabric

Width

Sew 2 inner border width strips together on short edge

Iron seam allowance open

Sew strip to short side of top

Iron seam allowance towards the border

Trim excess

Sew remnant to remaining inner border width strip along the short side.

Iron seam open

Sew strip to opposite side of top

Iron seam allowance towards the border

Trim excess

Repeat process with inner border length strips for long sides.

Attach Outer Border

Gather

Quilt top (with inner border added)

2 long outer border strips

2 short outer border strips

4, 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ squares web fabric

Be gentle with these blocks. Because they are not cut with the weave of the fabric they tend to be a little stretchy. It would be very easy to warp your border by tugging on the blocks.

Pin short outer border strip to short edges of quilt top

Align center seam to center seam of wonky blocks section.

Sew

Iron seam allowances towards outer border

Sew 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ squares to each end of the long border strips

Pin long border strips to long edges of quilt top

Align center seam with center of quilt

Align seam between corner squares and border strips with seam between short border strips and inner border.

Sew

Iron seam allowances towards outer border

Applique

Eeeek! It’s a spider!! Attached to the PDF version of this pattern is a template to cut out the spider parts. Position and attach the spiders to your quilt top using your favorite method of applique. (If the pattern is not attached you can find it here.)

Note – If you are opting to use buttons for the spiders eyes, please do this AFTER you have quilted your project. It will keep your family from learning words you would rather they didn’t know….and certainly not hear from your lips.

Finishing – Layer and quilt as desired.

I would love to see your creation. Please feel free to join my Flickr group, Tops to Treasures, and add your pictures!

One super silly Halloweeny quilt that measures about 69 1/2″ x 79″. It would be a great place to sit and sort the loot from Trick-or-Treating, or to cuddle under with some hot spiced cider while you sit by the front door ready to dish treats out.

It is a little too short for a bed, but if you don’t mind not having a pillow tuck it would do in a pinch….how cool would it be to have a seasonal quilt on your guest bed?

My brief bio -A transplanted Yankee, and happy Texan Cindy works from her home in North Texas where she lives with her family.She started piecing quilts over 20 years ago and opened her long arm business, Tops to Treasures, in 2006.Since then she has quilted over 1,000 quilts.As a pattern designer, Cindy's goal is to write directions that encourage quilters to grow in their skills, and have fun. Her patterns are based on traditional designs, often with a modern twist.

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The individual designers featured on this website ultimately hold the copyright for their projects and designs posted on the Moda Bake Shop. Patterns are not intended for sale or digital distribution. All items made from Moda Bake Shop patterns are for personal, non-commercial use only, unless given explicit written permission from the design owner to sell finished products made from their pattern tutorials featured on the Moda Bake Shop.